Removing stains

I

iwasntreallyathome

Joined
Mar 13, 2012
Messages
13
Hey folks, how are you?

I'm new here, so I must first introduce... my name is Guilherme, i'm 23 yrs old (making 23 today btw :) ),
I am new to knives so maybe gonna say some stupidities, don't bother

hehe

So here is the thing: I have a Mundial Puma, that my father found in the old warehouse by the countryhouse in grandpa's, but it was rusty.
Then I washed it, cleaned it, and sharpened it.
It just happens I can't remove some rusty-like deep stains that it holds... i even tried to rub it smoothly with a very fine sandpaper, but was afraid it would just scratch the knife.

Anyway, if someone could help, tell me what could I use to make it look new again, i'd be thankful :)


Plus, I couldn't post pictures, how do you do that without paid membership? :(

Thanks
 
It depends how deep the stains are but a buffing wheel loaded with a polishing compound works very well. If you don't have a bench grinder you can buy one for a drill and some polishing paste and that'll remove it. Very fine sandpaper will work as well. Anything I'd say above 1500 grit won't leave scratches as it's so fine. If it does then follow up with an even finer paper. Eventually either way you do it it'll look like a mirror when done. Just power buffing will be faster. If you choose that way make sure it doesn't get too hot (uncomfortable to hold) and you'll be fine
 
If the rust is embedded in pits in the steel, I could see how surface rubbing/sanding might not completely remove it without first removing much of the surrounding steel. I'd first use some WD-40 on the blade. Might even soak it pretty good, wrap the blade in a WD-40 moistened paper towel, and seal it into a Zip-Loc bag or other airtight container for a while, maybe a few hours or a day. The WD-40 will soak into and loosen up much of the rust, after which it can easily be scrubbed off with some fine steel wool (#0000) or even a paper towel, while still flushing with some more WD-40. I've given this treatment to a couple of my own knives that were heavily rusted, and it worked well. One of these knives was an old Voss Cutlery (Solingen) 'springer' knife, with carbon blade and stag scales. I'd imagine that might be similar to your old Puma, in terms of the blade/handle material. It was a knife that I traded for, from a gentleman who'd found it on the ground on a piece of property he'd purchased. It was a real mess, but cleaned up pretty well. Steel was quite pitted, but the rust is all gone.

If you have or can get some Flitz or Simichrome polishing paste, a simple thing to try would be to put a dab of it onto the rusty areas, and just scrub it into the pits as much as possible. Then use a soft rag to rub it away. The polishing paste can be very effective (usually) in removing at least a moderate amount of rust.

Edit:
Regarding posting pictures, a very easy way is to sign up for a (free) photobucket account, or another photo-hosting site. Upload your pics there, and you can copy the IMG code from there, and paste it into your posts here. You don't need a paid membership here, to do it this way. And there's greater leeway for posting larger pics too.

And, almost forgot to add: Welcome to the forum! :)
 
Last edited:
Thanks guys, i'm gonna use the WD-40 as Obsessed suggested, but... how about the wooden handle? The WD-40 would not spoil it?
In fact, the stains are not in pits, but it looks like an strange layer of rust under a layer of polished steel, because the steel looks pretty glossy.
Can I use Brasso? Cause this i have home. Anyway, I will try to post this week a photo of the knife as it is, and after I clean it, I will upload another one.

Thanks again for the advice, and have a good week!
 
iwasntreallyathome said:
Thanks guys, i'm gonna use the WD-40 as Obsessed suggested, but... how about the wooden handle? The WD-40 would not spoil it?
In fact, the stains are not in pits, but it looks like an strange layer of rust under a layer of polished steel, because the steel looks pretty glossy.
Can I use Brasso? Cause this i have home. Anyway, I will try to post this week a photo of the knife as it is, and after I clean it, I will upload another one.

Thanks again for the advice, and have a good week!
Click to expand...

Still think a picture or two would help. If you're worried about the wood handle and the WD-40, you could just use a paper towel moistened with WD-40, and apply that to the blade itself. OR, wrap the handle in plastic wrap or similar material to protect it. I'm still not sure how to visualize the stains on your knife, however. So, this is where a picture would help out.

I'm sure it won't hurt to give the Brasso a try. It won't hurt the steel at all, and just might be enough to scrub some rust off. I'm a little perplexed at the description of the 'layer of rust under a layer of polished steel'. Sounds almost like the blade is coated with something (glossy). But, again, pictures would be a great help.
 
Hi,
Sorry i didn't express myself properly last time.
The fact is, i wasn't with the knife at the time, and did not really remember how was the rust.
So today i got it and took some photos, and realised i was very wrong in my description, haha
and here they are:
DSC00557.jpg

DSC00556.jpg

DSC00555.jpg


I did what you suggested, put the knife in a roll of towel paper infused with wd-40, it will rest the night that way, tomorrow i'm gonna see what comes out of it.
Thank you very much for your help,
Guilherme
 
The pits won't go away. The only way to remove them is to sand/polish the blade down past the depth of the pits.
 
Oh, of course if they are deep i cannot remove them. There is no way to remove a hole, right?
But i would be happy if only i could remove the superficial stains and at least clean up the pits, so they wont look dark...
 
That blade actually looks pretty clean to me. I don't see any red/brown stains in the pics, so I don't think there's much reason to worry. The 'dark' coloration is likely the 'black oxide' that forms on the surface of steel when exposed to oxygen in the air. It's otherwise known as 'patina', and it's a good thing. It provides a small bit of protection against the 'red oxide' (rust) that might otherwise form and corrode the steel.

If you do want to remove the dark spots though, some polishing paste made for hardened steel (Flitz/Simichrome) will likely get it done. Brasso is formulated for softer metals (as the name implies), so it may or may not clean it up. But it won't hurt to try. Keep in mind, even after polishing the patina away, over time it will re-form. It's a natural process with steel.

Edited to add:
The pits in the steel will be a little more work to keep clean over the long run, if the knife gets used much. They'll always be more prone to collecting some of the stuff that makes the steel rust (dirt, moisture, salts, acids, etc.). If you really want to minimize that, sanding the pits out of the surface would help. BUT, I don't really think that would be worth the trouble; it's a lot of work. So long as the blade is cleaned up & dried daily after use, I don't think you'll have reason to worry about it.
 
Last edited:
Obsessed with Edges said:
The 'dark' coloration is likely the 'black oxide' that forms on the surface of steel when exposed to oxygen in the air. It's otherwise known as 'patina', and it's a good thing. It provides a small bit of protection against the 'red oxide' (rust) that might otherwise form and corrode the steel.

If you do want to remove the dark spots though, some polishing paste made for hardened steel (Flitz/Simichrome) will likely get it done. Brasso is formulated for softer metals (as the name implies), so it may or may not clean it up. But it won't hurt to try. Keep in mind, even after polishing the patina away, over time it will re-form. It's a natural process with steel.
Click to expand...

Ah, I did not know that! How good it is to talk to experts :D
Feel much better about it now, as this knife was my grandpa's and now my father gave it to me, all rusty, so you imagine that it means a lot to me.
I then cleaned it up, but thought it was needed to remove that kind of black pits, thought it would get bigger and weaken the steel, or something like that...
Thank you!
And now I just need to find somebody that would make a custom sheath for me, cause i've been keeping it rolled in tissues.
:)
 
iwasntreallyathome said:
Ah, I did not know that! How good it is to talk to experts :D
Feel much better about it now, as this knife was my grandpa's and now my father gave it to me, all rusty, so you imagine that it means a lot to me.
I then cleaned it up, but thought it was needed to remove that kind of black pits, thought it would get bigger and weaken the steel, or something like that...
Thank you!
And now I just need to find somebody that would make a custom sheath for me, cause i've been keeping it rolled in tissues.
:)
Click to expand...

I think that knife looks just about right, for all of the history it probably had with your grandfather. That's what most around here call 'character' in an old knife. :thumbup:

There are a few people here on the forum who do some nice leatherwork for sheaths, belts, etc. You might look in the 'Custom Shop: Services Offered' sub-forum linked below, for a few who offer it:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/870-The-Custom-Shop-Services-Offered
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top